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Conceptual Issues in the Ecology and Evolution of Circadian Rhythms

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Circadian Clocks

Part of the book series: Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology ((HBNE,volume 12))

Abstract

Many species of Drosophila eclose from their pupal cases at dawn. Does this eclosion occur in response to an environmental stimulus (i.e., a change in humidity, temperature, or light) or in response to an endogenous timing mechanism? A bird may fly in one direction for a few thousand kilometers, then turn and fly in another direction. Is the bird responding to landmarks or magnetic cues, or does a biological clock determine how long the bird flies in a particular direction during migration? These questions and others like them are important if we are to understand how the behavior* of organisms in their natural environment is regulated and why it is regulated as it is.

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  1. Center for Circadian Biology and Medicine, Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 60608

    Teresa H. Horton

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  1. Teresa H. Horton
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  1. Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Joseph S. Takahashi , Fred W. Turek  & Robert Y. Moore ,  & 

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Horton, T.H. (2001). Conceptual Issues in the Ecology and Evolution of Circadian Rhythms. In: Takahashi, J.S., Turek, F.W., Moore, R.Y. (eds) Circadian Clocks. Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology, vol 12. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1201-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1201-1_3

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